The Albertine Notes was a whirlwind of a story, confusing in the way that Inception was. I feel like I need to read through it a second time in order to fully understand it, however, from just one reading themes that we have been discussing all semester did clearly emerge. Continue reading
This week, one of the running themes was the father’s detachment, relative to his son’s. In the second half of The Road, there is an interesting moment where the boy seems to have begun to adopt the same desensitized reaction: Continue reading
From the very beginning, the pages of Alan Moore’s Watchmen are saturated with apocalyptic imagery. Rorschach wanders through a world where the end seems imminent. The streets are littered with trash and lined with strip clubs and bars; there are roving bands of punks and hooligans and a criminal lurking in every alleyway; the world seems to edge closer to anarchy and devolution every day. It is interesting to realize how the connection between so called “moral depravity’ and the end of the world is hardwired in our brains. While I could recognize that what Rorschach saw as signs of moral dissolution were often the results of changing moral and political order, it also wasn’t difficult to understand the rationalization for his vigilante justice. Continue reading
Having never read a comic book before, and not being a big fan of cartoons in any medium, I approached Watchmen with trepidation. However, I quickly realized that Watchmen was far different from what I expected. It was beautiful, and exquisitely written. The intricacy of interwoven storylines and the pictures full of hidden meaning made Watchmen exhausting but exciting to read. Continue reading
First, I must say that I was absolutely stunned by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Watchmen. I approached the book with a certain bias against “comic books.” How could this offer any sort of intellectual stimulation, I thought. When I started reading, and proceeded to read nearly 2/3 of the book in one sitting, though, I changed my mind. The novel is stunning visually, and I was amazed by how deep and exciting the content is. After completing the book and reading about Swamp Thing in Elizabeth Rosen’s Apocalyptic Transformatio: Sentient Vegetable Claims the End is Near! I am beyond compelled to read more of Moore! Continue reading
Much of what Strozier wrote in this week’s set of essays seemed to respond to my concern about how easily the “saved” characters in Glorious Appearing accept the punishment of the surrounding sinners. It is no less appalling to me that they could simply sit and watch, and even enjoy, the mass murder of most of the remaining population by Jesus – especially considering the gruesome manner in which the deaths were carried out. Continue reading
It took quite some time to get used to the tone of Glorious Appearing. As a liberal New Yorker without strong religious affiliations, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop (so to speak). This can’t be serious, I kept thinking, even though I knew the premise of the series. Continue reading
“For the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand?”
I think of all the quotable material from the Book of Revelation, this line struck me the most. At first, it was because it reminded me of one of my favorite post-apocalyptic books, The Stand by Stephen King. (I did check to see if this quotation had inspired the title. However, King’s epigrams suggest that honor goes to a Bruce Springsteen song and not the Book of Revelation – though it is certainly relevant.) On further examination however, what struck me about this line from Revelation is that “his” does not refer to Satan, but to God. Continue reading
